intelle&u, and thence into the memory by another from within, the common decuffation being in the understanding as is delivered by a Bovillus. Whether the intelle- Car. Bo&tual and phantaftical lines be not thus villus de rightly difpofed,but magnified diminished, distorted, and ill placed in the Mathematicks of fome brains, whereby they have irregular apprehenfions of things, perverted notions, conceptions, and incurable hallucinations, were no unpleasant fpeculation. And if Egyptian Philofophy may obtain, the scale of influences was thus difpofed, and the geniall fpirits of both worlds, do trace their way in afcending and defcending Pyramids, myftically apprehended in the Letter X, and the open Bill and stradling Legges of a Stork, which was imitated by that Character. Of this Figure Plato made choice to illuftrate the motion of the foul, both of the world and man; while he delivereth that God divided the whole conjunction length-wife, according to the figure of a Greek X, and then turning it about reflected it into a circle; By the circle implying plying the uniform motion of the first Orb, and by the right lites, the planetical and various motions within it. And this also with application unto the foul of man, which hath a double aspect, one right, whereby it beholdeth the body, and objects without; another circular and reciprocal, whereby it beholdeth it felf. The circle declaring the motion of the indivifible foul, fimple, according to the divinity of its nature, and returning into it felf; the right lines respecting the motion pertaining unto fenfe, and vegetation, and the central decuffation, the wondrous connexion of the feverall faculties conjointly in one substance. And fo conjoyned the unity and duality of the foul, and made out the three substances fo much confidered by him; That is, the indivisible or divine, the divifible or corporeal, and that third, which was the Syfafts or harmony of those two,in the myftical decuffation. And if that were clearly made out which Justin Martyr took for granted, this figure hath had the honour to chara&crize and notifie our blessed Saviour, as he he delivereth in that borrowed expreffion from Plate; Decufavit eum in univerfo, the hint whereof he would have Plato derive from the figure of the brazen Serpent, and to have mistaken the Letter X for T, whereas it is not improbable, he learned these and other myftical expreffions in his Learned Observations of Ægypt, where he might obviously behold the Mercurial characters, the handed crof fes, and other myfteries not throughly understood in the sacred Letter X, which being derivative from the Stork, one of the ten facred animals, might be originally Ægyptian, and brought into Greece by Cadmus of that Countrey. CHAP. CHAP, V. To enlarge this contemplation unto all the mysteries and fecrets, accomodable unto this number, were inexcufable Pythagorifme, yet cannot omit the ancient conceit of five furnamed the number of a justice; as justly dividing between the digits, and hanging in the centre of Nine, deforibed by square numeration, which angularly divided will make the decuffated number; and fo agreeable uuto the Quincunciall Ordination and rowes divided by Equality, and just decorum, in the whole com-plantation; And might be the Originall of that common game among us, wherein the fifth place is Soveraigne, and carrieth the chief intention. The Ancients wifely inftructing youth, even in their recreations unto virtue, that is, early to drive at at the middle point and Central Seat of justice. Nor can we omit how agreeable unto this number an handsome divifion is made in Trees and Plants, fince Plutarch, and the Ancients have named it the Divifive Number, juftly dividing the Entities of the world, many remarkable things in it, and also comprehending the a nerall divifion of Vegetables. And he gc a Airdgor, Odure, Φρύγανον, Πία, avor, Iba, Arbor, frutex, fuffrutex, berba, that confiders how and that fifth which com- nature; So that in those which exceed ceed |